Attorneys file appeal of Knox sentence

Updated 10:00 pm, Friday, April 16, 2010

BOLOGNA, Italy -- Lawyers for Amanda Knox today filed the formal appeal of the 26-year prison sentence handed down last December when she was convicted for the murder of Meredith Kercher.

The 220-page document filed with the of Court of Appeals in Perugia on Saturday morning is a total appeal of all the points of the sentence, said Knox's lawyer, Luciano Ghirga from Perugia in an interview with the Seattlepi.com.

"It includes the first days of the interrogation, the DNA and the traces detected with luminol. We re-iterate the innocence of Amanda and remain convinced there is not proof of her presence at the scene of the crime," Ghirga said.

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The panel of two judges and six civilian jurors issued a 400-plus page judicial opinion in March describing in detail the reasons why Knox was convicted. They believe Knox participated in the murder and its coverup but did not act maliciously and was not the mastermind behind the crime. The hotly contested forensic evidence presented in the trial played an important role in the jury's reasoning but was not the only element that led them to convict. Inconsistent statements, witness testimony, Knox's placing the blame on an innocent man, which she maintains she did under police pressure, and the staging of the crime scene were also cited as key factors by the jury.

Knox's legal teams are expected to contest all points, but are also asking for a third-party review of the forensic evidence. Such a request was rejected once already during the 9-month trial, but a different appeals court judge could decide to grant such an independent review. In Knox's case, lawyers are contesting the kitchen knife that prosecutors said was the murder weapon that had Knox's DNA on the handle and a trace amount of Kercher's on the blade.

Knox's lawyers also contest the luminol-positive traces discovered in the corridor (footprints) and the spot in the roommates room where prosecutors say Knox and her boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, later staged a break-in to make the scene look like a rape-robbery to throw off investigators. Police biologist Patrizia Stefanoni testified during the trial that these luminol-positive traces had mixed genetic material of Knox and Kercher.

Knox's lawyers werent the only ones to file an appeal this week. Prosecutors also filed their own appeals requests seeking to increase the sentences to life in prison as originally requested.

Knox, who is incarcerated at the Capanne penitentiary, met with her lawyers on Friday and expressed disappointment over the prosecutor's decision to appeal. She wondered why, her lawyers said, given that she already received 26 years.

Prosecutors were disappointed with the court's reasoning for lesser sentences, including the discount for extenuating circumstances and the fact that the jury questioned the motives for the murder as laid out in their case. However the move is likely more strategic than it is specific, as it opens up a route for prosecutors to remake their case during the appeals trial. Now, both sides will have to present their points at the same time before the appeals court, which is presided over by Judge Emanuele Medoro. Medoro will appoint a lateral judge who will work alongside him on the case, likely to begin after the summer recess.